Preliminary identification
Photo reference
1 uploaded photo
Overview
A classic late-Victorian advertising trade card for Murray & Lanman's Florida Water, featuring a highly detailed black-and-white woodcut-style illustration. The central image depicts a woman and a cherub holding a bottle of the famous perfume, framed by a modern floral-patterned backing card.
Story
Introduced in New York in 1808, Florida Water became the signature scent of 19th-century America. This card promised 'Captive Sweets from Flora's Bower' to entice Victorian consumers seeking a fresh, clean, and respectable fragrance.
Maker / Origin
Created by Robert I. Murray and later joined by David T. Lanman, the firm Lanman & Kemp became a global pharmaceutical and perfume empire. Their Florida Water was so successful that it became a staple of drugstores worldwide, surviving into the 21st century with its original formula and label design largely intact.
Condition & Value
The original advertising card insert shows some light toning and minor edge wear consistent with age. It has been mounted onto a modern patterned paper backing, which limits the ability to inspect the reverse side for original merchant stamps or damage. This mounting reduces the value to serious ephemera purists by about 30%.
Full Research
Sold comps, value drivers, and venue guidance pulled from recent auction results.
Build on this identification
Layer in sold comps, value drivers, and venue guidance.
Comparable demand stays strongest where maker, originality, and venue confidence line up. Broader examples still trade, but the range tightens quickly when provenance, condition, or selling lane fit is missing.
Best Venue
Specialty auction or a focused dealer with buyers already in this lane.
Signed example with light edge wear and original frame.
Comparable format with stronger provenance and cleaner surface.
Smaller related piece with visible craquelure and trimmed margins.
Period match with softer condition and weaker subject matter.
Close market lane comp with similar material and presentation.